The H-1B Electronic Registration Selection Process debuted in March 2020 for fiscal year 2021 H-1B cap-subject petitions. The barrier to entry dropped significantly with the introduction of the electronic registration...more
4/8/2024
/ Employee Transfers ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Green Cards ,
H-1B ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Lottery ,
O-1 Aliens of Extraordinary Ability ,
OPT ,
STEM ,
Students ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
The H-1B Electronic Registration Selection Process debuted in March 2020 for fiscal year 2021 H-1B cap-subject petitions. The barrier to entry dropped significantly with the introduction of the electronic registration...more
4/4/2024
/ E-3 ,
E-Verify ,
Employee Transfers ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Green Cards ,
H-1B ,
H-1B1 ,
Immigration Procedures ,
J-1 Visas ,
Lottery ,
OPT ,
PERM ,
TN-Visas ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
The U.S. Department of State (“DOS”) will launch a highly anticipated pilot program this month that will allow a limited number of eligible applicants to apply for visa stamp renewal from within the U.S., negating the need to...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is ending employers’ ability to remotely inspect I-9 documents on July 31, 2023. Employers will have an additional 30 days, until August...more
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will soon announce the fiscal year 2024 H-1B registration period. This is an important time of the year for employers wishing to sponsor a candidate for a cap...more
1/18/2023
/ E-1 ,
E-2 ,
E-3 ,
F-1 Visa ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Lottery ,
Registration Requirement ,
TN-Visas ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
On Monday, June 22, 2020, the White House issued a long-expected executive order outlining new U.S. immigration restrictions. The order extends and expands upon the earlier restrictions put in place by President Trump in...more
6/23/2020
/ Executive Orders ,
Foreign Nationals ,
H-1B ,
H-2B ,
H-4 Spouses ,
Immigration Procedures ,
J-1 Visas ,
L-1 Visas ,
L-Visas ,
Trump Administration ,
US Department of State ,
Visas
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) announced that it has adopted a May 5, 2020 Administrative Appeals Office (“AAO”) decision Matter of F-M- Co., which concerns immigrant petitions in the EB-1...more
As we reported in our March 23, 2020 alert, USCIS deferred the physical inspection requirements for completing forms I-9 until May 19, 2020.
On May 14, the USCIS announced it will extend that deferral for another 30 days....more
In recent weeks, the Trump Administration has announced several restrictions on immigration that garnered significant media attention. However, not all of the administration’s recent policies are aimed at restricting...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has made a significant change regarding eligibility for clinical J-1 waivers for foreign educated physicians who have completed graduate medical programs or training in...more
On Wednesday, April 22, 2020, the White House issued its anticipated proclamation regarding the 60-day suspension of immigration processes. Although President Trump’s late Monday Tweet suggested a broad moratorium on all...more
More than 750,000 U.S. employers – many of them federal contractors and subcontractors – utilize E-Verify, a program that assesses the work authorization of new hires. The program electronically compares information provided...more
Maintaining a robust I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification process is a critical part of any business’ human resources function. As most HR professionals know, Form I-9 is used to verify the eligibility of workers to accept...more
US companies that employ foreign students in F-1 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Optional Practical Training (OPT) status should be aware of a recently announced practice by Immigration and Customs...more
While portions of California’s Immigrant Worker Protection Act have been enjoined, employers remain subject to notice obligations. California passed a statute limiting the extent to which employers could cooperate with...more
Citing both “serious risk to United States nationals of arrest and long-term detention” and the “imminent danger to the physical safety of United States nationals,” on August 2, the U.S. State Department issued a Geographical...more
As expected, on January 27, 2017, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order entitled “Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals”.
In addition to temporarily suspending all refugees'...more
As of 1/22/2017, employers are required to use the new version of Form I-9 to verify identity and employment eligibility of employees. See the new form (11/14/2016 N version) at https://www.uscis.gov/i-9. Form I-9 found at...more
On September 19, 2016, the Seattle City Council voted unanimously to approve a new legislation that would regulate how large retail and food-service businesses schedule their employees. Known as the “secure scheduling” law,...more
Following up on President Obama’s proposal to acknowledge the global marketplace of ideas and leverage current immigration law to encourage entrepreneurship and economic growth, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service...more
Just when is an employer required to hire those taking prescription pain medications? In Clipse v. Commercial Driver Services, Inc., the Washington Court of Appeals held that Commercial Driver Services, Inc. was liable under...more
9/3/2015
/ Appeals ,
Best Management Practices ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Jury Awards ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Promissory Estoppel ,
Trucking Industry ,
Zero Tolerance Policies
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) amended the regulations to allow certain H-4 dependent spouses to work in the United States. This is excellent news, particularly for spouses of H-1B workers from India...more
Question:
My company relies on independent contractors, over whom we don’t exert control. They often joke around with each other. I’m not liable for employment discrimination if I terminate one of them after they...more
Companies using independent contractors should be aware of increased enforcement efforts from federal and state labor and tax authorities over misclassification of workers under wage and hour and tax laws. In Washington, this...more
In This Presentation:
- Government Agencies Involved
- Terms & Definitions
- U.S. Citizens
- Lawful Permanent Residents
(Immigrants or “Green Card” Holders)
- Paths to Permanent Residency
-...more
5/21/2014
/ Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Form F-1 ,
Green Cards ,
H-1B ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
J-1 Visas ,
NAFTA ,
Path To Citizenship ,
Permanent Residence Cards ,
USCIS ,
Visas